Chapter 100 Chapter 100 Update.
Taking advantage of the moment when she was wearing the headband, Ji Xu observed calmly that the way the needle and thread were placed, including the way of reeling in the thread at the end, was indeed what Tian had taught her before.
Although the world is so big, coincidences are possible.
But she followed the news of Tian Shi and came to Zhuo County, looking for Wang Ye at the County Magistrate's Mansion, where she happened to see such needlework on the wife of the housekeeper.
After leaving Mrs. Lai's room, I couldn't let it go.
I returned to the servants' quarters, still lost in thought, when Ji Feng came in from outside, his voice louder than anyone else's:
"Sister, look what I found in the kitchen! Such fine shrimp! But they died on the way from the farm, and they didn't like them and picked them out. I asked a maid for some, and they weighed three or four pounds. Hey, sister, what are you thinking about?"
Ji Xu did not tell her about this for a while, fearing that the coincidence would be in vain, so he said:
"I was just thinking about what to make for dinner, and it just so happened that I could sauté these shrimp."
After sitting for a while, he took out the eggplant-flowered Yue cloth from the big box on the kang.
It was after the Qiqiao Festival that Qingnu was rewarded for solving a karma case, and the painting was given to her.
Because she worked in the kitchen and couldn't wear good clothes, she hadn't moved, but now she had an idea.
That day, she brought the cloth to the West Market and found a famous embroiderer, asking her to make clothes for her.
"The weather is getting colder. Cut a jacket for my lady of her age. Embroider rice ears and swimming fish on both sides with fine silk thread."
Ji Xu's needlework was only good enough for sewing clothes, but she had no talent for embroidery. She said:
"Since it's a gift, I can't leave it alone. It wouldn't be a thoughtful gesture. Let me do the sewing and threading myself."
So the embroiderer cut the Yue cloth into pieces, embroidered the patterns she wanted, and then let her sew it herself.
"What a clever fish! It seems to have come alive under the rice ears. Which maid in the mansion helped to do this?"
Ji Feng saw her on the kang, sewing by the window. She lifted up a corner of the needlework and examined it, feeling the embroidery pattern on it.
"It's just that the waist is too big, it's not my size."
Ji Xu said, "This is a gift for Madam Lai. I specially asked an embroiderer from the West Market to embroider it."
"I brought her some lamb stomach jerky and calamus wine as a gift last time, and my sister even made her a jacket. She is so blessed." Ji Feng said jealously.
Ji Xu pinched her nose and said, "If this can be accomplished, Sister Feng will be very happy and say that this jacket is worth giving."
On this day, the Double Ninth Festival, chrysanthemums were everywhere in the palace, and the ground was covered with yellow and white.
The county magistrate held a Double Ninth Festival banquet in the garden. The kitchen staff was busy all the time, and the garden was bustling with the sounds of stringed instruments and music.
Mrs. Lai celebrated the festival and did not go out to do business.
The two little maids who were serving in the two rooms of the residence had secretly gone outside to watch the fun, and the room became deserted for a while.
She lay on the couch, unable to call anyone for tea.
"Where have you been hiding away again, you little bitch? I'll expose your skin when I get back!"
"Mrs. Lai, don't move. I'll make some tea."
"Who's outside?"
Mrs. Lai sat down and asked.
"A shepherd girl in a small kitchen."
I saw a slender figure leaning forward outside the gauze window, as if fiddling with the tea stove.
"Why did you come to my place when you weren't in the small kitchen having fun with the girls?"
The stove outside was flickering with sparks, and a gentle voice came in, "I made a jacket for you, old man, and I hurried to deliver it today, the Double Ninth Festival. I came in just in time to hear someone calling for me."
She worked efficiently and soon made the tea. A figure came through the door and brought it in. Mrs. Lai drank it, which relieved the autumn dryness in the afternoon.
"You think of me, better than the two girls beside me, this is Yuebu, right?"
"Yes, such fine material, but I am too small and unlucky to wear it. So I embroidered rice ears and fish on it and gave it to you as a gift, hoping that there will be an abundance of rice every year."
Mrs. Lai tried it on and found it to be a perfect fit. The eggplant-flower material was not frivolous and she liked the look of it, so she said:
"Okay, okay, embroidery is also good."
She thought that this girl had something to ask for, but she never expected that she sat there and chatted with her to relieve her boredom. Later, when it got dark, she got up and left without saying anything. It turned out that she really came to show her filial piety on the Double Ninth Festival, and she could feel her sincerity.
He liked the coat more and more, and wore it the next day, going in and out.
When Ji Xu saw this, he knew that the matter was half done.
If the headband was made by Tian, it must have been worn out and had been there for some time. I wonder if Tian had come into contact with Mrs. Lai.
If so, then the Yue cloth was produced in Kuaiji, the rice and fish soup were from Yangzhou, and the most important needlework method was taught to her daughter by Tian.
I hope that when Tian sees her, she can tell that this is her daughter and the original intention of her family to come to the county magistrate's office from Yangzhou and Kuaiji.
The weather was getting colder, and Ji Xu and the others had to heat the kang before they could sleep at night. Fortunately, Ji Feng also had a share of firewood.
This is because Ji Xu often went to accompany Mrs. Lai to talk about some sweet things recently, so Mrs. Lai also arranged Feng and Zhu to do odd jobs in the small kitchen, thinking that they could help Ji Xu.
Her two younger sisters have always felt sorry for her and would do the work for her without asking for help. Now she can each get a monthly salary of 300 yuan, and some allowances for winter clothes, firewood, and soapberries. She is happier than anything else.
"I've been wanting to find a job to help support the family for a long time, but everywhere I go, they say they don't have any help. My sister was so capable that she actually arranged for Xiaozhu and me to work in the small kitchen. Now we can keep each other company. It couldn't be better."
The two of them got together to discuss where they should hide the monthly salary.
It is said that Ji Xu had the remaining twenty taels of travel money, which he hid in the old way by digging a hole at the foot of the doorpost. He covered it with a layer of old soil, and after two days of stepping on it, it was no longer noticeable.
As for the monthly salary he earned later, he put it in a big box on the kang. There was an iron spring lock on it so that no one could easily rummage through it.
Finally, the two sisters decided to hide in the hole in the kang under the mattress.
This was the first time they earned monthly wages. On the day of receiving the wages, both of them carried their small bags and lined up in front of the warehouse early with Xiaoyao. After receiving the money, they followed an older girl to the West Market to buy candied haws.
The weather was cold and everyone's face was red from the cold, but they were all smiling. They brought a bunch of noodles for Ji Xu and put them on the window eaves, waiting for her to come back and eat them.
"My sister should have gone to Mrs. Lai." Ji Feng said.
Ji Xu was here. Although she came here often, she didn't dare to ask some questions directly. Mrs. Lai was not as open-minded as Qingnu.
Although she often complained to Ji Xu about everything, she was tight-lipped and never mentioned anything about the Alchemy Building or the outside world.
They just say that the days are short and the nights are long, they can't sleep well, their knees hurt again, and these are the complaints of the elderly.
Ji Xu always comforted her and personally helped her to sleep.
"I've hung a scent bag next to my tent. Inside is dried chrysanthemums and some calming scented tablets. Maybe it'll help you sleep better."
That day, she took off the headscarf, tucked in the quilt, lowered the bed curtains, and faced the copper lamp for a moment, her heart filled with excitement. This was Tian's needlework!
Moreover, this headscarf is brand new. I have never seen Mrs. Lai use it before. It must be newly acquired. This means that Tian is still alive and can even come into contact with Mrs. Lai!
Moreover, the material used is of good quality, so it seems that Mrs. Tian is not in a difficult or embarrassing situation.
I saw the vine pattern embroidered on the headscarf. The vines, growing and spreading, have always symbolized auspiciousness and peace. Was it telling her that she was safe?
"real?!"
Ji Feng heated the kang in advance and waited for her to come back. The candied haws were still stuck outside. Ji Xu was eating it. The sugar coating was as crisp as snow, and it tasted sour and sweet when he bit it. He finally felt at ease.
When Ji Feng heard this, she almost screamed and almost woke up Ji Zhu who was sleeping.
After a while, he covered his heart which was about to jump out of his chest and said in a low voice:
"But mother is safe and sound, why didn't she come to see us?"
This was also what Ji Xu thought. Mrs. Lai was often busy outside and would occasionally go into the Alchemy Building. She didn't know whether Tian was in the building or somewhere outside.
"In any case, there must be a reason why we can't help it," she said.
The alchemy building was guarded by Wu Bi, so Ji Xu could not enter.
However, she had followed Madam Lai out of the mansion once. Madam Lai went out from the corner gate in a ox-drawn carriage, which was not very fast. She could still quietly blend into the crowd and catch up with her by walking.
I just saw people heading out of the city. Once they got outside the city gate, there were fewer people and the view was wide open, so there was nowhere to hide.
This made Mrs. Lai suspicious, thinking that all her previous efforts were in vain, so she returned home and told the boy next door that she had gone to the West Market to buy thread, and no one suspected her.
She was a hired cook, and she was not restricted like a servant when she went out.
But in this way, she didn't know where Tian was and how they could meet. She couldn't make out any other information from the headscarf with vine pattern embroidered by Tian.
That day, I made a thick knee-pad for Mrs. Lai. The knee-pad at this time not only served as an apron around the waist, but also kept the knees warm in cold weather, just like its name.
"It's made of rabbit fur. It keeps you warm and protects you from the wind." Ji Xu said.
Mrs. Lai's heart was even more moved. She was an old woman in the county governor's mansion, with no children, so she said:
"No matter how many adopted daughters I have, none of them are as adorable as you. The other day I complained about my knee pain, so you remembered and made me this knee brace. It's neither too big nor too small, just the right size, and the pattern on it is also unique."
All you can see are pairs of lychees embroidered on it. At that time, lychees were called lizhi or lizhi.
This is a question for Tian Shi. They are like fruits that have left the branches and are looking forward to seeing their mother. I hope Tian Shi can give them some advice.
But there was no reply for a long time, as if Tian didn't want them to know about this.
Until around the winter solstice, she helped Mrs. Lai to sleep as usual, tidying up the thick cotton jacket on the rack, and a square handkerchief fell out of the cuff.
The stitches were indeed Tian's, but with garlic embroidered on them, which had an ambiguous meaning.
"Xu, what are you looking at that garlic?"
Que came over from the cowshed and said curiously.
Ji Xu held a bunch of dried garlic in his hand. It had to be said that the garlic produced in Yan was much larger than that in his hometown. The cloves were distinct, white, tender and plump. People in this place also ate more garlic. In the past, in Lingshui County, most people didn't know what garlic was.
She asked, "What do you think of when you see this garlic?"
Que thought for a moment, swallowed his saliva, and said, "When I think of the garlic pork you made, the thin white meat dipped in the garlic sauce, I still can't forget the taste. But do I have to make it for dinner again?"
The fighter said, "There's also fried loach with garlic! I ate all the garlic that day. I don't know when I can clean the mud pond and dig up another basket of loach."
After hearing about these foods, Ji Xu thought that Tian couldn't force her three daughters to eat more to keep fit, right?
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